LOS ANGELES – After 20 years of living next to Poppy Peak, John Collinson still likes to hike to the top. The view never gets old.
"The view is outrageous. Very beautiful," Collinson said. "This needs to be shared with the community because there is no place quite like it in Los Angeles."
Collinson said it's one of the last remaining green spaces in the area, an escape from the city's density. People are often seen hiking and enjoying nature as they spot hawks, owls, and coyotes among dozens of oak trees. But Collinson is worried this pocket of nature could soon evaporate.
"I was coming home from a business trip in March, and that's my house right there," he said. "And I saw surveying stakes there on the hillside there. They are still there."
A development company called "Poppy Peak 26 LLC" owns 26 parcels of land that dot the slopes. Two of those parcels have newly constructed homes, and Collinson said he believes some protected California oak trees have already been damaged in the building process.
"Connecting the dots, he's building here. Here's surveying there. He's going to cover this whole area with houses," Collinson said. "That would take extreme difficulty, but if you have enough money, you can do anything."
Collinson is among 20 concerned residents who started a campaign called "Save Poppy Peak," gathering over 8,000 signatures through an online petition. They say the densely-populated Highland Park neighborhood cannot afford to lose what little green space it has to make room for luxury housing. One of the houses is currently listed on Redfin for $1.295 million.
Collinson said they have worked with the Highland Park Neighborhood Council and its Land Use Committee to reach out to the developer with their concerns.
"So far, the developer has resisted all invitations or encouragement to engage the neighbors that are going to be the most affected by this," he said.
Collinson said the campaign also contacted Mayor Eric Garcetti's office and were told they would look into it.
Spectrum News 1 reached out to Poppy Peak 26 LLC, who said they own the land and don't have any current plans to build additional homes.
Collinson said ultimately, the goal is to preserve Poppy Peak by buying the land from the developer.
"We would like to work with a land trust like Santa Monica Conservancy or The Trust for Public Land and the city and county of land that would sponsor this," he said.